Over 50,000 people die each year because of congestive heart failure, a condition that often cannot be treated with drug or surgical therapies. Moreover, nearly 550,000 new patients are diagnosed with congestive heart failure each year. For many patients that suffer heart failure, an attractive option is heart transplantation. The scarcity of suitable donor hearts has limited the impact of this therapy, however. As such, recent efforts have focused on the development of mechanical pumps to assist the failing heart. Fortunately, great strides have been made in the development of ventricular assist devices (“VADs”). Instead of totally replacing heart function, a VAD augments the existing heart's ability to pump blood. These devices have saved many patients who would not have survived without a heart transplant. Despite it success, current VAD technology still has much room for improvement. Specifically, there is a need for less invasive methods and devices that may be used to temporarily or permanently assist a failing human heart.